The Fashioned and Made for Excellence (FAME) Foundation has said that girls’ voices must be part of the conversations and decisions that determine their futures, and they need role models to help them become their best selves.
The foundation recently made this known in Ibadan at an event to make the 2024 International Day of the Girl, themed ‘Girls’ vision for the future’.
The event organised for senior secondary schoolgirls, aimed at connecting the girls with inspiring women leaders they can learn from their lives and stories. The event provided an opportunity to hear directly from the girls and listen to them share their visions for the future.
Raphael Stephen, Executive Director of the FAME Foundation, stated that through deliberate investments in girls’ education, they can foster a brighter future for Nigerian girls.
Stephen noted that the foundation has built a record of accomplishment over half a decade by delivering leadership programmes to secondary school students across Nigeria and recently hit a major milestone of over 40,000 students reached at the end of the third quarter of 2024.
He further stated that in his work in girls’ education, he has seen first-hand the effect mentorship can have on girls.
“Girls know their situations best and have lived experiences to share,” he said.
Stephen further said that peer role modelling profoundly affects young girls, especially when that role model is an inspiring female.
“Through this initiative, we can accelerate progress towards a future where every girl can envision and fulfil her potential,” he added.
Wasilat Adefemi, the first female Commissioner for Youth and Sports in Oyo State, acknowledged the potential, talents, and strengths of girls while recognising the challenges they face, including access to education.
Adefemi encouraged the girls to believe in themselves and their abilities, to pursue their passions and dreams, and to speak out against injustice and inequality.
“Support one another and lift each other,” she urged the girls.
The principal of St Louis Grammar School, Ibadan, where the event was held, Dr Oyeyemi Shadare, appreciated the FAME Foundation for celebrating the girls of the school.
“The girls experienced a mind-shift, saw their worth, began to envision, raised their aspirations, dared to dream, raised their ambitions, and now believe they can be whoever they set their mind to become in life,” Shadare said.
The representative of the Special Assistant to the President of Nigeria on Youth Initiatives, Ms Tinuade Mary was also present at the event.
The event covered activities such as talk sessions, dialogue, and debate led by the girls and female youth leaders in Oyo State and Nigeria.
Cash prizes and sanitary towels sponsored by the foundation, the Nigerian Breweries Plc, and the Hey Girl Foundation were given to the participants.
The FAME Foundation boss, Raphael Stephen, noted that in nearly a decade, the foundation has impacted over 25,000 girls directly and 50,000 girls indirectly across over 200 schools in Nigeria.
He added that they have trained and equipped girls with leadership skills allowing them to find their voices and become better leaders, take on greater leadership opportunities, and become changemakers in their communities.
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